Second Best
by Illidan the Half Demon
Summary: Set after Season 4. Two duelists who have always been on top of their game went up against Jaden Yuki at different times in their lives, with both suffering losses to him. Now they meet up with one another to find out who is second best. A 2 Pt story.
1. Chapter 1

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a very special treat for you tonight! Here tonight in the Kaiba Dome, we have two amazing duelists going head to head."

Turning towards the audience, the announcer smiled at the fact he had the audience seemingly eating from the palm of his hand. Pointing off to his left at a young man who had silver hair that reached his upper back in length and light blue eyes and was wearing a silver business suit, as well as a standard issue White Duel Disk on his left arm, he said "Introducing first, a phenomenon that has been taking the dueling world for many years. He has been one of the top ranked duelists in the world since entering the Pro Circuit and has earned many hard fought victories. He is the sensation who relies on destiny and cannot be denied! I'm speaking of none other than Aster Phoenix!"

Listening to the loud cheers for him, Aster slightly smirked as he looked out at the crowd up in the stands. Taking his attention from them to the duelist across the arena that was facing him, he began walking towards the middle of the dueling ring while fisting his hands.

Standing at the other end of the arena was a blue-green haired young man with green eyes. His clothing consisted of a mostly white jacket with a blue collar and a blue vest, and black pants. Like his opponent, he wore a white standard issue Duel Disk on his left arm.

"And introducing next, he is an up and coming new star to the Pro Circuit. He only graduated from North Duel Academy earlier this year, yet he has taken himself up through the ranks like a man possessed. To add to his story, he is the proud owner of the Crystal Beasts, an exclusive set of cards given to him by Maximillion Pegasus. Give it up for Jesse Anderson!"

Waving to the crowd while moving towards the middle of the dueling ring, Jesse yelled out "Thank you, thank you!"

Reaching the middle, both duelists stared one another down with confident looks etched into their faces. Looking between the two, the announcer smirked at the sight of the growing tension between the two duelists. Hearing the crowd cheering, he glanced up at them, motioning them to cheer louder.

Having his fill, the announcer twirled the microphone in his hand and said "I think it's time to get this duel underway. First, a coin toss to determine who will choose to go first. Mr. Anderson, the honor is yours to call the coin."

Turning his attention to the announcer, the blue-green haired young man nodded. Watching the announcer pull a coin out from his pocket, Jesse waited till the coin was flipped up into the air before he called out "Heads!"

The coin soon came tumbling down into the announcer's hand, who caught it expertly. Holding his hand out to reveal the results to the two duelists, he announced to the crowd "The coin has landed tails, meaning Aster Phoenix has the right to choose to go first."

"I shall go first." Aster commented instantly.

Nodding in reply, the announcer once more twirled his microphone, saying "Aster Phoenix has chosen to go first. Now then duelists, shake hands and let's get this duel underway!"

Both duelists extended their hands to the other, with both slightly smiling. Grasping one another's hand in a tight handshake, the pair stared each other in the eye for a few long moments.

"Don't forget the bet we made earlier." Aster commented.

Replying with a nod, Jesse said "I haven't. May the best duelist win."

Breaking apart their handshake, the pair turned away from one another and headed towards their starting positions. Watching this, the announcer walked over to the edge of the dueling ring and saw the pair soon come to a complete stop and face one another again. Each drew out their decks and shuffled before placing them into their deck slots. Immediately, both Duel Disks glowed to life, with both duelists taking up a ready position. Pushing out in sync with one another, the two Duel Disks simultaneously pushed the hidden arm of the Duel Disks out as the life point counters counted up to 8000 instantly.

"Game on!" both Aster and Jesse called out loudly, earning a cheer from the crowd.

Both duelists picked up five cards from the top of their decks and placed them into their left hands. Picking up his sixth card, Aster called out "I'll kick this duel off by playing this spell, Destiny Draw! By sending a Destiny Hero from my hand to the Grave from my hand, I get to draw two new cards. I'll toss out Destiny Hero – Malicious."

Placing the monster card into his Graveyard Slot, the silver haired duelist watched it slowly suck down into the slot before drawing two new cards. Eyeing them, he smirked and held one of the two out, saying "What do you know, I drew another spell, which I'm playing now! Go D – Spirit! Thanks to this card, I check my field for Destiny Heroes. If I have none, I get to special summon one from my hand to the field, so long as it is level four or less. I'm picking Destiny Hero – Dunker (1200/1700)!"

Appearing onto the field instantly was a muscular tanned man with dark purple dreadlocks, a green masked face with red eyes, and green tattoos on his shoulders. The man wore dull gray armor covering his chest and arms from his elbows down to his hands, and similar metal boots.

"I'm activating Dunker's special ability, which allows me to send a Destiny Hero from my hand to the Graveyard, allowing him to dish out 500 points of direct damage. Say goodbye to Destiny Hero – Disk Commander and hello to 500 points of damage!"

Glowing with a light red aura, Jesse let out a low growl as his life points decreased slowly.

"Next I'm summoning Destiny Hero – Diamond Dude (1400/1600) in attack mode!"

A slight glow formed on the field, and from it was a man with a green tattered cap, long grey hair, black leather pants and a black shirt, a diamond looking mask over his eyes, and many diamonds covering his body, some sticking out at least two feet in width. Immediately, the man crossed his arms.

"Want some more, check out his effect! Diamond Dude let's me flip the top card on my deck, and if it happens to be a Normal Spell type, I get to put it in my Graveyard, but I can activate it on my next Main Phase."

Drawing the top card on his deck and glancing at it, the silver haired duelist smirked and turned it towards his opponent, saying "Lucky me, it's Doctor-D, which is a Normal Spell. I'll just place this in my Grave and hold onto it for next turn."

Placing the spell into his Graveyard Slot, the silver haired duelist saw the card instantly was sucked down. With it gone, he called out "I'll lay a face down and activate the field spell Clock Tower Prison!"

Surrounding the pair in a flash was a large courtyard with a large rectangular set of walls and a massive clock tower with gold filling in the hours and clock hands. A loud tolling bell sounded throughout the arena, giving off an eerie feeling to the blue-green haired duelist, along with the crowd.

"That does it for me." (Aster = 8000, Jesse = 7500)

Lightly chuckling, Jesse called out "Wow, your Destiny Heroes are pretty cool, Aster. I have to admit, they're tough, but don't think my Crystal Beasts will roll over because of them."

"Heh, I wouldn't have it if they did." Aster commented with a small smirk.

"You'll see what they can do soon enough." the blue-green haired duelist remarked. Drawing his sixth card, he added "In fact, why wait!"

"One second, Jesse!" Aster interrupted. Pointing up in the air at the large clock tower behind himself, he said "Time keeps marching on, much like my clock tower. During each of your Standby Phases, it gains one Clock Counter."

Coming to life upon the end of the silver haired duelist's words, the large hour and minute hands on the clock began winding forward till reaching three o'clock. Reaching the designated time, the clock tower's bells began ringing out.

Frowning slightly, Jesse commented "I'm not sure what that means, but I'm not going to let it stop me. I'll begin my turn by summoning Crystal Beast Cobalt Eagle (1400/800)."

Glowing to life on the field was a cobalt blue stone. Shining brightly, the gem vanished and in it's place was a brown eagle with an orange like mane of feathers that rolled down his back. Around his chest was some kind of plate with blue on it. On each of his wings, near the tips, was a blue rounded stone.

"Cobalt Eagle, attack Destiny Hero – Dunker with Cobalt Skydive!"

Flapping it's wings hard several times till he lifted off to a height of twenty feet above the field, the bird called out "_You got it chief!_" Dive bombing towards the purple haired warrior, the eagle smashed beak first into the warrior, shattering it instantly and making the silver haired duelist cover his face from the wind blowing back against him from the force of the attack.

Selecting two cards from his hand and placing them into two empty Spell/Trap Slots, Jesse calmly said "I set these two face down cards and end my turn." (Aster = 7800, Jesse = 7500)

"Back to me then, so let's go!" the silver haired duelist called out while drawing a new card. "I first activate Diamond Dude's effect, allowing me to use the spell I sent to the Graveyard last turn. Now that Doctor-D is activating, I can remove one Destiny Hero from the Grave. I'm picking Destiny Hero – Malicious."

Slowly, the called out monster card slid out of the silver haired duelist's Graveyard Slot. Picking it up, he placed it into his pants pocket.

"Once that is done, I can select another Destiny Hero in my Graveyard and special summon it. I'm picking Destiny Hero – Disk Commander (300/300)."

Materializing onto the field in a flash of golden energy was a light blue and gray muscular warrior in a body suit. Covering his head was a helmet that was sleek and showed no facial features. On his arms, just above his wrists, were a two spinning round disks. As well, on his back was a pair of much larger round disks that were sticking out from his upper back.

"When Disk Commander is special summoned from my Graveyard, I get to draw two new cards."

Snapping off two cards, Aster eyed them before selecting one and slapping it onto his Duel Disk, saying "I summon Destiny Hero – Doom Servant (400/700)!"

Forming onto the field immediately was a silver and dull gray armored warrior with red covering his chest. On his back was a tattered olive colored cape. His right hand held a long silver staff with a spiked tip on the upper end and a golden shield was attached to his left arm. The warrior's head was covered by a dull gray helmet that had large spikes sticking out the back of it that made it look like pointed ears. Poking out from under his helmet was a set of purple dreadlocks.

"On the turn Doom Servant is summoned, I get to place a Clock Counter onto Clock Tower Prison."

Turning and facing the large clock tower, the silver armored warrior pointed his staff at it, causing the arms on the clock to suddenly begin winding till they stopped at six o'clock. Like before, a bell toll rang out through the air, sending out a chilling feeling.

"I'm not done yet, for I reveal my face down trap, Eternal Dread! With this, I can add two more Clock Counters to my field spell, giving it a total of four!"

Coming to life, the large clock tower's arms began spinning. They finally came to rest at midnight while the tower began letting out a loud bell tone that seemed to make everyone in the crowd shiver.

"Next up, I play Diamond Dude's effect, allowing me to flip the top card on my deck."

Drawing his next card, Aster smirked and showed it to Jesse, saying "I just drew Graceful Charity, which is most definitely a Normal Spell. I'll put this in my Grave and save it for next turn."

Upon placing the card into his Graveyard Slot, he added "I'll play these two cards face down and end my turn." (Aster = 7800, Jesse = 7500)

Gazing over his opponent's field, Jesse frowned slightly at the monsters out front. "_I don't get what he's up to. He put two monsters out with less attack points than Cobalt Eagle, leaving himself wide open to an attack. Is he trying to goad me into attacking one of them so he can trigger one of his face down cards? I bet one of them will destroy a monster._"

Pausing for a moment, the blue-green haired duelist mentally shook his head, saying "_I guess I'll have to force him to use them up._"

Snapping off the top card of his deck, Jesse threw a glance at it before slapping it onto his Duel Disk. "I'll start things off by summoning Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger (1600/1000)."

Emerging onto the field was a bit of a roughly cut topaz colored gem. Glowing to life, a white tiger with black stripes, a sharp silver fang like horn on his head, sharp fangs, and four silver fang like spikes, each on a leg, appeared.

"_Why don't you tell our friend about my special ability?_" the tiger commented.

Nodding to the tiger, the blue-green haired duelist said "Whenever Topaz Tiger attacks one of your monsters, he gains 400 extra attack points (1600 + 400 = 2000/1000). But before he attacks, I'll let Cobalt Eagle have a shot. Go, attack Disk Commander!"

Letting out a light screech, the eagle took to the air. Immediately upon reaching a secure height in the air, it dive bombed towards the weaker light blue and gray armored creature. Staring at the incoming attacker, the warrior made no move to dodge as the eagle smashed into it, shattering the warrior into millions of pixels and sending a plume of smoke into the air.

Slowly, the smoke cleared, revealing the silver haired duelist still standing with his life points unchanged.

"Wait, shouldn't you have lost some life points? I know for a fact my monster won that fight."

Lightly chuckling, Aster replied "Normally that'd be true, but not so this time. I'm sure you didn't notice that my field spell didn't gain any Clock Counters when your Standby Phase passed. That is due that it's full. Four Clock Counters is the maximum it can hold. When it reaches that limit, I take zero Battle Damage."

Growling lightly, Jesse fired back "That may be the case, but I'm not done. Attack his Diamond Dude now, Topaz Tiger, with Incisor Slash!"

Roaring loudly, the white tiger bounded across the field gracefully towards the diamond covered warrior, who stood his ground, seemingly unafraid of the impending attack.

"Hold on once second, I play my face down trap, Attack Guidance Armor!"

Forming on the field in a blinding white light was a set of dull gray armor that looked like it could fit a person's chest down to their torso. It had a break in the middle where sharp purple fangs poked out in between, a set of red eyes on the upper half, and a teal covered stripe beneath it's eyes. Seeing the armor, the tiger seemed to become entranced with it and stopped his attack.

Growling lightly, Jesse grunted out "I knew you'd play a trap eventually."

"Right you are, Jesse." Aster commented. "And this trap isn't just your normal run of the mill trap either. No, Attack Guidance Armor allows me to redirect your attack to another monster on the field, so long as it's not the attacking one or one being attacked."

Eyes widening a fraction, the blue-green haired duelist mumbled "That means Cobalt Eagle…"

"Not to worry." Aster interrupted. "I'm not after your other monster. No, your monster's new target will be my Doom Servant!"

Glowing with a light white light, the dull gray armor suddenly vanished, but soon reappeared on the chest of the gray and red armored warrior. Looking up at the tiger, the warrior saw the tiger begin growling as he was drawn towards his direction. Without hesitation, the tiger pounced upon the warrior, making him cry out in pain before shattering into nothingness.

"I don't understand, why destroy your own monster?" Jesse questioned.

Smirking, the silver haired duelist smartly replied "Excellent question, and here is your answer in the form of two words: special ability. You see, whenever Doom Servant goes to the Graveyard due to battle, I can destroy one spell or trap on my field."

Still looking confused, Jesse asked "You mean you're destroying a card on your field?"

"That's right, and the card happens to be my Clock Tower Prison!"

As soon as the silver haired duelist finished talking, the large clock tower suddenly exploded, sending debris flying across the field while the remains of the walls vanished. A cloud of dust blew across the field, hiding the remains of the tower behind the silver haired duelist.

"I still don't understand that move."

Smirking still yet, Aster replied "Allow me to explain. Whenever my Clock Tower Prison is destroyed, it's final effect kicks in. It allows me to special summon Destiny Hero – Dreadmaster (?/?) to the field from my deck."

Appearing out of the dust was a massive, muscular tan skinned warrior with dark brown hair that reached his butt in length. The warrior appeared to have many past battle scars on his body where he had been in past battles. His head was covered with a metal mask that hid all his facial features, with exception to his mouth and eyes. Around his neck was a large chain that had a huge golden lock hanging from it that had a big 'D' inscribed into it. The only clothing he wore was a pair of purple ripped pants that were cut off just above his knees and had a single brown drawstring tie at the top of them. On each wrist and ankle was a massive handcuff that had a two foot chain hanging from each.

"Now Dreadmaster, activate your special ability! I'm allowed to special summon two Destiny Heroes from my Graveyard to the field. Disk Commander (300/300) and Dunker (1200/1700) return!"

Materializing onto the field at once were the gray and light blue armored warrior with disks spinning on his body and the other tan skinned warrior with purple dreadlocks.

"As you might remember, Disk Commander's effect kicks in when he's special summoned from the Grave. That means I pick up two new cards!"

Drawing two cards from his deck and placing them into his left hand, the silver haired duelist added "But I'm not done yet, for I play my other trap, Destiny Signal! This can be used whenever one of my monsters are destroyed in battle, I get to special summon another level four or below Destiny Hero from my hand or deck. I'm picking my deck."

Pulling his deck out and sifting through it, the silver haired duelist searched for a moment till he finally found his desired card. Placing it onto his Duel Disk, he called out "I summon Destiny Hero – Captain Tenacious (800/800)!"

With a mighty battle cry, a man with long orange hair that fell to his ankles in length, a black mask that covered half of his face, a bare chest that was well toned, with powerful arms that had some sort of set of shields strapped on, and strong legs in blue green armor appeared.

"Oh yeah, one last thing before I let you continue. I'm sure you're curious about Dreadmaster's points by now. Well, they're determined by adding the total attack and defense points of all of my Destiny Heroes on the field together (1400 + 300 + 1200 + 800 = 3700/1600 + 300 + 1700 + 800 = 4400)."

Eyes widening to the size of saucer plates, Jesse took an involuntary step backwards while taking in the strength of his opponent's monster. "That's a lot of monster…"

"You bet it is." Aster commented in a smug tone. "Now then, back to you."

Trying to calm down, the blue-green haired duelist clenched his right hand tightly. Slowly, a small smile appeared on his face as he began to laugh. "Man, you don't disappoint one bit. I heard you were tough, but they weren't kidding. I know for certain I'm going to win that bet now."

"We'll see about that one." Aster remarked.

Smirking, the blue-green haired duelist selected a card from his hand and laid it into a Spell/Trap Slot, saying "I'll throw down a face down to end." (Aster = 7800, Jesse = 7500)

"Stand back, because it's my turn once more." the silver haired duelist declared while drawing a card. "I first play Diamond Dude's effect, allowing me to use the spell I discarded last turn. So it's time for Graceful Charity, letting me to draw three new cards, but afterwards I must ditch two."

Snapping off three cards from his deck, the silver haired duelist looked them over before adding them to the three cards in his left hand. Selecting two, he placed them into his Graveyard Slot, which quickly sucked both down.

"I'll kick things off by sacrificing Disk Commander for Destiny Hero – Double Dude (1000/1000)!"

Appearing onto the field in a flash was a man dressed in a black suit with white gloves, with one hand holding a cane that had a blue sphere at the top, a purple scarf that covered his mouth and nose, wore glasses that hid his eyes from view, and a black hat on top of his head.

"With Double Dude taking the field, Dreadmaster gets stronger (3400 + 1000 = 4400/4100 + 1000 = 5100). Up next is my field spell Dark City!"

Rising up from the ground as the area above the duelists turned into a night time sky were several large black skyscrapers with yellow lights on in their windows. The ground beneath them turned to blacktop while a full moon rose up into the sky.

"In here, if my Destiny Heroes happen to attack a monster with more attack points, that hero will gain 1000 attack points. And with that, Double Dude, go take down his Topaz Tiger (1000 + 1000 = 2000/1000)!"

Taking to the air, the man wearing the black suit came crashing down towards the tiger and slammed his cane into the head of the tiger. The tiger roared out in pain upon being struck, but soon exploded into a small plume of smoke that covered the field of the blue-green haired duelist. Slowly, the smoke vanished, revealing a yellow crystal before the silver haired duelist's opponent.

"Sorry, but I forgot to mention something about my Crystal Beasts." Jesse smartly commented. "When they're destroyed, instead of going to the Graveyard like normal, they're placed into my Spell/Trap Slots as Continuous Spell Cards. Of course, they have no effect in this manner, but that's alright."

"It won't matter for long, because Double Dude has a special ability of his own. He can attack twice in a turn. Go, take down Cobalt Eagle!"

Spinning around to face the brown eagle, the man in the black suit suddenly transformed into a hulking behemoth of a man with many rippling muscles, long purple hair that reached down the middle of his back, and blood red eyes. The tattered remains of his suit covered his body, but more skin was revealed than anything else. Drawing back his large right hand, the crazed man slammed it heavily into the brown eagle, making it screech out loud before exploding and sending smoke into the air. The smoke soon cleared, revealing a blue crystal next to the yellow one before the blue-green haired duelist. Seeing he was done, the large man reverted back into his smaller form.

"You're going down, Jesse! Dreadmaster, bring his life points down!"

Releasing a mighty roar, the large tan skinned warrior leapt into the air and drew back his right hand, causing the chain on it to rattle loudly.

"Hold that thought there Aster! I'm playing a trap called G-Force, which allows me to special summon one Crystal Beast from my hand to the field in attack mode. I'm picking Crystal Beast Emerald Turtle (600/2000)!"

Materializing onto the field with a bright glow was an eight sided green emerald gem. The gem slowly glowed to life, and in a flash, the gem was gone and a blue turtle shell with green emerald spikes sticking out appeared. The skin of the turtle was a lighter shade of blue while it's eyes were green and a emerald colored gems were stuck on it's legs, with one hanging also from it's chin.

Frowning, the silver haired duelist remarked "I don't get why you played that weaker monster, but I won't let it stop my attack. Crush that turtle now Dreadmaster!"

Letting out a low grunt, the tan skinned warrior continued towards his target and slammed his large fist into the blue turtle. A massive explosion ensued with smoke covering the field where Jesse stood. Bit by bit, the smoke cleared, revealing an emerald crystal before the blue-green haired duelist, but also another face up trap card.

Noting his opponent's life points had increased instead of decreasing, Aster asked "Why did your points go up?"

"I played Rainbow Life right when your attack hit. To use it, I had to discard a card from my hand, but it was worth it because for the duration of this turn, instead of taking Battle Damage, the damage I would be inflicted is added to my life points."

Letting out a low growl, the silver haired duelist looked at the two remaining cards in his hand before selecting both and placing them into his Spell/Trap Slots. "I'll throw down two face downs, and then play Diamond Dude's effect. I flip the top card and see if it's a Normal Spell."

Snapping off the top card on his deck, the silver haired duelist eyed the card for a moment before revealing it, saying "It's a trap unfortunately, so I have to put it on the bottom of my deck. That ends my turn." (Aster = 7800, Jesse = 10300)

Drawing a new card, Jesse threw a glance at it before revealing it, saying "I play the spell Rare Value. With this, you get to select one of my Crystal Beasts that is in my Spell/Trap Zones. The chosen one goes to my Grave, but I get to draw two new cards. So, go ahead, pick one."

"I'm picking your Topaz Tiger." Aster answered immediately.

Nodding, Jesse took the chosen card and placed it into his Graveyard Slot. Finished, he drew two new cards and looked them over for a moment. "I activate my face down spell, Crystal Blessing, allowing me to take up to two Crystal Beasts from my Grave and place them back into my Spell/Trap Zones. Since I only have one in the Graveyard, I return Topaz Tiger."

Finishing up on placing the monster card that slid out of his Graveyard Slot into an empty Spell/Trap Slot, the blue-green haired duelist said "Next up, I'm summoning Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus (1800/1200)!"

Forming on the field was a round blue colored gem. Glowing brightly, the gem vanished and was replaced by a white horse with a white mane, powerful wings that had golden feathers, a blue gem horn on it's forehead, and blue round gems on the tips of each wing.

"When Pegasus is summoned, I can take one Crystal Beast from my deck and place it into a Spell/Trap Zone."

Pulling his deck out, Jesse sifted through it for a moment before selecting a card and sliding it into a Spell/Trap Slot. Shuffling his deck, he replaced it as a red crystal formed before him. "I picked Ruby Carbuncle, whose effect kicks in. When special summoned to my field in such a way, I can special summon her, so come on out Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle (300/300) in defense mode."

Glowing brightly, the red crystal shattered, releasing a small purple colored creature that looked like a small cat. It had ruby colored eyes and a glowing red sphere attached to the end of it's tail, four ears on the side of it's head, and a single red dot on it's forehead. Fully formed, the small creature sat down onto a horizontal card image.

"Now that Ruby Carbuncle is on the field, her effect kicks in. Ruby can allow me to special summon all the Crystal Beasts I have in my Spell/Trap Zones."

"You're joking!?" Aster stated with surprise on his face.

Smiling back, Jesse replied "Not at all, so welcome back Crystal Beasts Topaz Tiger (1600/1000), Emerald Turtle (600/2000) in defense, and Cobalt Eagle (1400/800)!"

One by one, the three crystals shattered, revealing each of the said creatures. First was the white and black tiger, with the blue turtle next, and finally the brown eagle.

"Time to go on the attack! Sapphire Pegasus, attack Diamond Dude with Sapphire Horn!"

Releasing a mighty whinny, the white horse took to the air with it's powerful wings and threw back it's head. Upon doing so, it's sapphire colored horn began glowing as dark blue energy built up on the tip of it.

Smirking, Aster called out "Diamond Dude is going nowhere because I play the trap D – Chain! When activated, this card becomes an equip card and can only be equipped to a Destiny Hero. I equip it to Diamond Dude, which increases his attack points by 500 (1400 + 500 = 1900/1600), meaning your Pegasus is outmatched."

Forming in the hands of the diamond covered warrior's hands in a flash was a dull gray chain with a purple gem on the end of it in the shape of a fang. Gripping the chain tightly, the warrior began swinging the chain rapidly to it's right side. Without warning, he flung the end of the chain into the air at the white horse. The chain pierced through the horse with ease, making it whinny out in pain before exploding and vanishing from the field. A moment passed before suddenly a blue crystal formed before the blue-green haired duelist.

"One more thing, whenever a monster equipped with D – Chain destroys a monster in battle, my opponent is dealt 500 points of direct damage."

Growling lightly as his body glowed with a red aura, Jesse ground out "That's fine, because Topaz Tiger will finish what Pegasus began. Don't forget, when he attacks, Topaz gains 400 attack points (1600 + 400 = 2000/1000)!"

Roaring to life, the white tiger bounded across the field towards the diamond covered warrior, who stood his ground. Suddenly, the other face down card before the silver haired duelist rose up, making the tiger howl in pain before shattering into millions of pixels. A moment passed before a yellow crystal formed on the field next to the blue one.

"What happened!?" Jesse demanded.

Lightly chuckling, Aster smirked once more, saying "I played my other trap, D – Counter. If one of my Destiny Hero's are attacked, I can use this to protect them and destroy the attacking monster."

Clenching his right fist tightly, Jesse called out "I'm not done yet! Cobalt Eagle, destroy his Dunker! Go Cobalt Skydive!"

Beating it's wings several times, the brown eagle took to the air and soon went into a nose dive before slamming into the weaker tan skinned warrior. Immediately, the warrior shattered, leaving a bit of dust in the air from it's destruction while the large warrior with the metal mask let out a low growl as his strength decreased (4400 – 1200 = 3200/5100 – 1700 = 3400).

"I'll throw down this card and use Emerald Turtle's effect to switch Cobalt Eagle into defense mode. That's all for me." (Aster = 7600, Jesse = 9700)

Drawing a card and glancing at it before placing it into his left hand, Aster called out "Guess what Jesse, during my Standby Phase, Destiny Hero – Captain Tenacious's special ability activates. When I lose a Destiny Hero, during my following Standby Phase, I can special summon it back with Tenacious's special ability. Welcome back Destiny Hero – Dunker (1200/1700)!"

Reforming onto the field in a flash of white sparkling energy was the tan skinned warrior with purple dreadlocks. Fully on the field, he took up an attack position. At the same time, the metal masked warrior let out a low grunt as his strength seemed to increase once more (4400/5100).

"Time to go on the attack, so Double Dude, attack Jesse's Cobalt Eagle! And since Double Due is weaker, he gains a 1000 attack points thanks to Dark City (1000 + 1000 = 2000/1000)."

Leaping into the air, the man in the black suit drew back his can and readied himself to strike out at the weaker brown eagle.

"I can't stop your attack, but I can play this trap! I reveal Last Resort, which allows me to take the field spell Ancient Rainbow Ruins from my deck and put it into play."

Pulling his deck out, the blue-green haired duelist searched through it for a few moments before finally finding the field spell card. Shuffling his deck, he returned it to it's slot before tapping the end of his Duel Disk, causing another slot to shoot out. Placing the selected card into the slot, the slot shut, causing the Duel Disk to glow to life.

Instantly, the black buildings and nighttime sky vanished as a blue sky formed above the pair with a rainbow in it. The ground changed as well to a stone floor with an ancient coliseum surrounding two duelists.

"Of course, when I played my trap card, since you had a field spell out already, you get to draw one card. In the meantime, your Double Dude gets a bit weaker due that Dark City is gone (1000/1000)."

"It still doesn't change the fact that your eagle is going down!" Aster heatedly fired back while picking up a new card.

Continuing onwards towards the brown eagle, the man in the black suit smashed his cane into the body of the eagle, making it screech loudly before shattering. A moment passed before a blue crystal formed next to the dark blue and yellow ones.

"Double Dude isn't done yet, because he can attack again. Take out Ruby Carbuncle!"

Transforming into his larger warrior form, the hulking warrior let out a battle cry and slammed a massive fist into the weaker purple creature. It let out a shriek just as it exploded, leaving a red gem in it's place. Satisfied, the large warrior returned to his normal smaller form and returned to the side of the other monsters.

"I hate to waste this attack, but I have no choice. Dreadmaster, crush that turtle!"

Taking to the air, the large tanned warrior with the metal mask let out a mighty battle cry and leapt the entire length of the field. Coming downwards, he drew back his large right hand, causing a dark purple glow to engulf his fist. Throwing it forward, he slammed it hard into the blue turtle's shell. The shell held for a moment before shattering into millions of pixels. A green crystal formed instantly afterwards beside of the others, but left the blue-green haired duelist wide open with exception of the five crystals.

Pointing at his opponent, the silver haired duelist called out "Direct attack him now Diamond Dude, Captain Tenacious, and Dunker!"

Rushing forward, all three warriors charged towards the blue-green haired duelist. Each struck out at him, intending upon doing as much damage as possible.

"Hold on one second!" Jessed called out. "Thanks to Rainbow Ruins, whenever I have two or more Crystal Beasts in my Spell/Trap Slots, I can halve the Battle Damage I'm about to take from a single monster. I'm choosing to cut Diamond Dude's damage to me in half."

Growling lightly, Aster called out "That may be, but you'll still take plenty!"

Striking out one at a time, the three warriors let loose their attacks upon the blue-green haired duelist. With each strike, he cried out in pain, but managed to remain on his feet.

Taking a card from his hand and putting it into a Spell/Trap Slot, the silver haired duelist said "I activate the spell D – Formation. Each time you destroy a Destiny Hero, let's just say there will be a small price to pay. At that, I'm done for now." (Aster = 7600, Jesse = 6750)

Nodding while picking up his new card, the blue-green haired duelist pointed at his crystals before him. "First thing is first, I should explain my field spell. You see, it gains effects based upon how many Crystal Beasts I have in my Spell/Trap Slots. For example, if I have one Crystal Beast, it has one effect, whereas when I have five, it has five effects. I'll start by playing the fourth effect, which requires four Crystal Beasts to use. I can now draw one card during my Main Phase."

Picking up another card, Jesse threw a quick glance at it before saying "Next, I'll play the fifth effect. This lets me special summon one Crystal Beast from my Spell/Trap Zones to my field. I'm picking Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle (300/300)!"

Cracking open, the red crystal fell away, allowing the small purple cat like creature to escape and return to it's place on the field.

"And you know what that means? It means Ruby can use her effect again to bring back all my other Crystal Beasts! Rise up once again Cobalt Eagle (1400/800), Sapphire Pegasus (1800/1200), Topaz Tiger (1600/1000), and Emerald Turtle (600/2000)."

Each and every crystal suddenly shattered, revealing each creature and allowing them to return to the field in their full glory.

"I'm not done yet, because I activate the spell M – Force. This card grants one of my Crystal Beasts 500 extra attack points, and those points are going to Emerald Turtle (600 + 500 = 1100/2000). And with that, Turtle will attack! Take out Double Dude with Emerald Shards blast!"

Pulling it's body back into it's shell, the blue shelled turtle's shell began spinning while the emerald crystals on it's back glowed to life. A shower of emerald spikes went flying across the field, striking the warrior in a black suit over and over, making him grunt out in pain before exploding into a plume of smoke. In the smoke, the large metal masked warrior let out a grown as it's strength weakened (4400 – 1000 = 3400/5100 – 1000 = 4100). At the same time, one of the D's on the spell card before the silver haired duelist lit up with a red aura.

"Topaz, attack Diamond Dude (1600 + 400 = 2000/1000)!"

Bounding across the field, the white tiger let out a mighty roar as it leapt into the air and came down swiping it's claws across the chest of the diamond covered warrior. Once more, the large metal masked warrior groaned as his strength decreased (3400 – 1400 = 2000/4100 – 1600 = 2500). A moment passed before suddenly the other D on the spell card before the silver haired duelist lit up, making both Ds glow bright red.

"I'm not done, so Pegasus, take out Captain Tenacious!"

Whinnying, the winged horse took to the air with it's massive wings beating hard. High in the air, the horse suddenly came flying downwards at an incredible speed towards the orange haired warrior. Smashing it's horn into the chest of the warrior, the horse let out another whinny as the warrior groaned for a moment. In a flash, the warrior shattered into millions of pixels, leaving behind a small amount of smoke. After a moment, the large metal masked warrior groaned again as his strength was cut down some more (2000 – 800 = 1200/2500 – 800 = 1700).

"Attack Dunker now Cobalt Eagle!"

Lifting off into the air immediately, the large brown eagle quickly gained altitude before coming down at rapid speed. Smashing it's beak into the chest of the purple dreadlocked warrior, the eagle flew away as the warrior cried out in pain and exploded. At the same time, the strength of the masked warrior dropped down to nothing (0/0).

Smirking, Jesse pointed at the weakened warrior, saying "Since I took out all your Destiny Heroes, with exception of Dreadmaster, he has no attack points left. Ruby, I'm leaving this one up to you. Go get him!"

Nodding, the small purple creature leapt into the air and turned it's tail towards the lone masked warrior. The large sphere on it's tail glowed brilliantly red before releasing a laser beam from it. Slamming into the weakened warrior, the beam shot through him, making the warrior groan before exploding into nothingness.

"To end, I'll use my Emerald Turtle's effect to put him into defense mode. That's all for me this turn." (Aster = 5900, Jesse = 6750)

Snapping off the top card of his deck quickly, Aster examined it before smirking. "To kick things off this turn, the effect of Double Dude activates. When he's sent to my Graveyard, I get to special summon two tokens in his place, so meet Double Dude Token number one and Double Dude Token number 2 (1000/1000) (x2)."

Forming onto the field instantly were two look-a-like warriors in black suits. They looked exactly the same as the warrior they had spawned from.

"Next, I'm sacrificing a token so I can summon Destiny Hero – Dasher (2100/1000)!"

In a flash, one of the warriors in the black suit vanished, only to have a metallic looking gray skinned warrior with purple on his toes and lower jaw. On the bottom of it's feet and hands were a pair of wheels.

"By the way, during my turn, I can sacrifice another monster to Dasher, allowing him to gain 1000 attack points (2100 + 1000 = 3100/1000) for this turn alone."

Fading into a cloud of golden dust, the warrior in the black suit disappeared as the metallic warrior glowed with a golden aura while his strength increased.

Pointing across the field at the smaller purple creature, Aster called out "Show him what you've got Dasher by taking out Ruby Carbuncle!"

Zooming forward on his wheeled feet, the metallic warrior suddenly leaned forward, allowing the wheels on it's hands to begin sliding along. Leaping into the air suddenly, the warrior spun around a few times before coming down with it's right fist extended. The fist struck the weaker purple creature, who cried out in pain before exploding and leaving a small cloud of smoke in it's wake. Slowly, the smoke settled, revealing a red crystal before the blue-green haired duelist.

Returning before it's master, the metallic warrior fell into a kneeling stance and crossed it's arms before it's body. Instantly, a horizontal card image formed underneath of it.

"After Dasher attacks, he goes to defense mode. I'll throw down a face down and end my turn (2100/1000)." (Aster = 5900, Jesse = 3950)

Seemingly unfazed, Jesse picked up a new card, saying "Not bad Aster, but why don't I return the favor! First, I'll switch Emerald Turtle into attack mode, and then I'll summon Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat (1200/400)."

With a light glow, a purple gem materialized onto the field. With a bright glow, the gem vanished, only to be replaced by a tall pink female cat with a golden crest that looked like it had wings and a purple gem in the center of it. Off of each of her feet, there were golden like strips as well.

"_At last, some fresh meat._" the pink cat commented.

Lightly chuckling, Jesse smartly replied "Why don't you go get a taste then. By cutting Amethyst Cat's attack points in half, she can direct attack (1200 / 2 = 600/400). Go get him!"

Letting out a low growl, the pink cat leapt high into the air, easily jumping over the metallic warrior. Extending her claws, the cat began to swipe it's claws out at her target.

Smirking at the sight of the pink cat, Aster pointed at his face down card, which quickly rose up to reveal it was a trap. "Not happening Jesse because I activate D – Fortune! With this, when I'm direct attacked, I can remove a Destiny Hero from my Graveyard in order to end your Battle Phase. I'm picking Destiny Hero – Dread Servant!"

Glowing to life, the Graveyard Slot of the silver haired duelist pushed the said monster card out into his awaiting hand. Picking it up and placing it into back pocket with his other card, the silver haired duelist watched as a red shield formed before him. Slamming her claws into the shield, the pink cat growled with irritation before retreating to her side of the field.

"Not too shabby Aster. I gotta admit I'm surprised you stopped my attack. Anyways, I'll use Emerald Turtle's effect to place him back into defense mode. I'm done." (Aster = 5900, Jesse = 3950)

Picking up a new card, Aster stared at it for a long moment before slapping it horizontally onto his Duel Disk horizontally, saying "I summon Destiny Hero – Fear Monger (1000/1000) in defense mode."

An olive colored warrior with what looked like a set of jet wings on his back, a jet like engine weapon on his right arm, sharp clawed fingers on the other hand, and solid armor covering his body appeared onto the field with a small battle cry. Falling to one knee, the warrior crossed his arms over his chest.

"Next, I switch Dasher back into attack mode. And with that, Dasher, take out his Amethyst Cat!"

Standing up, the gray metallic warrior broke into a quick run, using his wheels to increase his speed. Moving onto his hands and feet, the warrior increased his speed before suddenly leaping into the air and coming down quickly upon the pink cat with a clenched right fist. The fist connected evenly with the pink cat, who roared out before exploding into millions of pixels. A moment passed before the pixels suddenly reformed into a purple crystal.

"Dasher goes back to defense mode and that ends my turn." (Aster = 5900, Jesse = 3050)

Nodding, Jesse drew a new card quickly and held it carefully as a small smile appeared on his face. "First things first, I switch Emerald Turtle back to attack mode. Next, I summon Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth (1700/1600)."

Materializing instantly onto the field was a round oval amber colored jewel. It glowed brilliantly for a moment and vanished, giving way to the image of a dark grey mammoth creature with four large tusks, a trunk, an amber colored round jewel in his forehead, and a grey mane on his head.

"Cobalt Eagle, take down Fear Monger!"

In a flash, the brown eagle was across the field and slammed into the olive colored warrior, destroying it instantly, leaving the silver haired duelist covering his face from the smoke.

"Up next, Topaz, claw that Dasher up!"

Roaring loudly, the white tiger bounded across the field as his strength increased (1600 + 400 = 2000/1000). Reaching it's target, the white tiger pounced onto the gray metallic warrior. The impact of hitting the ground shattered the metallic warrior easily, leaving only a small puff of smoke in it's wake.

Smirking at the empty field before his opponent, Jesse called out "Go direct attack him Emerald Turtle and Sapphire Pegasus!"

Bounding across the field, the winged horse let out a loud whinny, but suddenly launched itself into the air while the blue turtle drew itself back into it's shell. Slowly, it's shell began spinning and released shards of emerald colored shards in the direction of it's target. The shards struck the silver haired duelist lightly, making him grunt out in pain. He didn't have long to recover before the white horse rammed it's horn into him. Screaming out from the pain he felt, the silver haired duelist fell to his hands and knees while panting heavily.

"I think that's enough for now." (Aster = 3500, Jesse = 3050)

Panting heavily still with sweat sliding down his face, Aster began to stand up, only to fall back to one knee. Forcing himself back to his feet, the silver haired duelist attempted to slow his breathing, only to hear his opponent seemingly mocking him.

"Not done are you? Do you need to take a break?" Jesse questioned with a slight bit of mocking in his tone.

"Why, do you need one, because I have plenty of fight left!" Aster fired back as he drew a new card. "I play the effect of Fear Monger! When destroyed, during my Standby Phase, I can return one Destiny Hero from the Grave to my field, so I pick Destiny Hero – Double Dude (1000/1000) in defense!"

Materializing onto the field in a flash was the warrior in a black suit and hat with is cane in hand. Immediately, the warrior fell to one knee while crossing his arms before himself.

"Next, I set this monster and end my turn." (Aster = 3500, Jesse = 3050)

Drawing a new card, Jesse immediately turned it towards his opponent, saying "I activate the spell Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two new cards."

Picking up two new cards, the blue-green haired duelist smiled and said "Next I'll activate Graceful Charity. Thanks to this, I can draw three more cards, but I gotta ditch two."

Once more picking up more cards, the blue-green haired duelist selected two and placed them into his Graveyard Slot. "And now, I can play the spell To the Wings! To play this, I need Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus on the field, which I happen to have. Next, all of my Crystal Beasts, other than Pegasus, return to my hand."

Each of the creatures on the field, along with the two crystals before the blue-green haired duelist, glowed to life and suddenly transformed into beams of light. All six suddenly shot into the duelist's hand, with all reforming into cards.

"And now, I play another spell, Gem Burst. With this, I need to remove from my Graveyard the following cards: G – Force, E – Force, and M – Force."

"Hold on one second!" Aster interrupted. "You don't have E – Force in the Grave."

Chuckling softly and shaking his head, the blue-green haired duelist replied "Not quite, because I sent it there with the help of Graceful Charity. As I was saying, I need to remove all three from play."

One by one, the three cards pushed out of Jesse's Graveyard Slot. Picking up all three, he placed them into his back pocket. Smirking, he added "Next, thanks to Gem Burst, I can place as many Crystal Beasts from my hand as I can into my Spell/Trap Slots. I'll be placing Crystal Beasts Emerald Turtle, Cobalt Eagle, Amethyst Cat, Topaz Tiger, and Ruby Carbuncle."

Forming before the blue-green haired duelist instantly were five crystals. The first was green, next was a blue one, then a purple one, a yellow one, and finally a red colored one.

"For each one I put into my slots, you take 500 points of direct damage."

Eyes widening as the blue-green haired duelist finished his sentence, Aster watched all five crystals glowed to life. All at once, all five shot out a beam of energy straight at the silver haired duelist, each striking him head on and making him cry out in pain as a small explosion formed around him. Slumping forward slightly, he growled lowly while casting a glare at his opponent.

"Next, I play the fourth effect of Rainbow Ruins, allowing me to draw a new card."

Picking up a new card, Jesse glanced at it before placing it into his left hand with his other two cards. "And now, I summon Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth (1700/1600)!"

Reappearing onto the field with a mighty bugling sound was the large gray skinned elephant.

Pointing into the air, the blue-green haired duelist called out "Up next, I play the fifth special ability of my field spell, allowing me to special summon another Crystal Beast. Welcome back to the field Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle (300/300) in defense!"

Breaking free from the ruby colored crystal instantly was the familiar purple cat like creature.

"And I hope you remember her effect. She automatically special summons as many of my Crystal Beasts from my Spell/Trap Slots as possible to my field. I'm choosing Crystal Beasts Topaz Tiger (1600/1000) and Amethyst Cat (1200/400)!"

Raising it's tail above it's body, the purple cat like creature released a beam of red energy at the yellow and purple crystals. Each crystal immediately shattered, releasing the white tiger and pink cat.

"Let's get to it guys! Amber Mammoth, crush his Double Dude!"

Releasing a bugling sound, the large mammoth crossed the field and stamped it's massive foot on top of the warrior wearing the black suit. The warrior didn't stand a chance as the mammoth's foot smashed cleanly through him, leaving nothing but a small explosion behind.

"Topaz (1600 + 400 = 2000/1000), pounce on his face down monster!"

Letting out a mighty roar, the white tiger leapt across the field with it's front paws extended and claws out. Landing on the card image, the tiger sank it's claws deep into the image, shattering it and causing a plume of smoke to form.

"Looks like you're defenseless." Jesse smartly remarked.

Hearing chuckling coming from the smoke, the blue-green duelist was about to comment when he saw the smoke clear out, revealing a massive gray brick like monster in a kneeling position with his arms up as shields. On the creature's head, there was a small golden grate that revealed only a pair of red eyes. Pushing against the brick creature's right arm was the white tiger, who appeared to be making no headway. Without warning, he was flung backwards across the field and back before his comrades.

In a smug tone, Aster called out "You just attacked my Destiny Hero – Defender (100/2700). It seems your little kitty bit off more than he could chew, giving you a bit of damage for your trouble."

"That might be, but thanks to my field spell's second special ability, my damage is halved (700 / 2 = 350). I may not be able to take down that monster, but I can still dish out some more damage to you with Amethyst Cat. By cutting her attack points in half, she can direct attack (1200 / 2 = 600/400). Go get him!"

"_This time it's purrsonal._" the pink cat said with a heavy emphasis. Leaping into the air, the pink cat crossed the field in a single leap. Landing before the silver haired duelist, the cat slashed out at him, making the duelist cringe as his life points dropped once more.

Still smiling, Jesse calmly said "I think that's enough for now. I end my turn." (Aster = 400, Jesse = 2700)


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello everybody! (/Hears everyone shout back "Hey Doctor Nick!"\) Yeah, I know, me silly/dumb, lol. Anyways, I'm glad that everyone seemed to like this two part one-shot thus far. I originally wanted to put it out as one chapter, but then I saw it was 17000 words, and I was like, eh, no, lol. That's a lot of reading, even for me, but may be not for others. Anyways, I ****decided against it.**

**Thank you The Duelist of Dawn for your review. Also, thanks to DM44, jessicahlee94, and The Duelist of Dawn (again, lol) for adding my story to your favorites. I really appreciate it.**

**I'm thinking of doing another one-shot (two part, possibly), but I'm unsure. Depends on how much I get done on my other story.**

**At any rate, without further ado, here is the completion of **_**Second Best**_**! Enjoy!**

"About time, stand back!" Aster declared while snapping off a new card. "It begins by Double Dude's effect kicking in, which lets me gain two Double Dude Tokens (1000/1000) (x 2)!"

Materializing onto the field immediately were two twin warriors in black suits. Both had the same expressionless look on their faces.

"Now I play the spell Card of Demise. I draw five cards, but in five of my Standby Phases, I have to discard my entire hand!"

Drawing five new cards, the silver haired duelist smirked, saying "I sacrifice both tokens, along with Defender, in order to special summon Destiny Hero – Dogma (3400/2400)!"

Vanishing one after another, the two warriors in black suits and the brick creature turned into streams of sparkling energy. The three streams mixed together, causing a blinding white light to form as a new creature appeared. The creature was a powerful large black armored creature with massive black wings and a long black ponytail that reached his knees in length. A pair of chains were wrapped around his neck, with white horns sticking out of it's head. Olive skin protruded out from under a large black mask while four red eyes staring out of the mask. On the monster's right and left arms were large sharp looking objects protruding from his wrists that looked like swords.

"Time to get down to business. Dogma, cut up that Amethyst Cat with Dogma Dagger Dash!"

Spreading it's wings to their full length, the black armored warrior raised both arms as his swords slid out further than before. Clashing them together, he suddenly raced across the field at near blinding speed. Beginning to swipe out at the pink cat, the warrior let out a gasp as his path was blocked by the large gray mammoth. The twin swords cleaved through the mammoth like it wasn't even there, causing it to explode with a massive blast.

"_I'll be back!_" the mammoth cried out before finally vanishing. After a moment, an orange crystal formed next to the other two before the blue-green haired duelist.

Frowning, Aster asked "Why did your Amber Mammoth take the hit instead of your Amethyst Cat?"

"Kind of simple really. Amber Mammoth's effect allows me to redirect an attack to himself if I have other Crystal Beasts on the field. Though he took the hit, the Battle Damage I took was halved thanks to my field spell." Jesse explained.

Growling lightly, Aster grunted out "I'll lay two face downs and end my turn." (Aster = 400, Jesse = 1850)

Picking up a new card, Jesse began to examine it but was interrupted by Aster saying "During your Standby Phase, Dogma's special ability kicks in. You see, when he was successfully summoned last turn, he cuts your life points in half on the following Standby Phase."

Eyes widening, Jesse barely had time to react as the black armored warrior spread it's wings with a red aura encircling it. At the same time, a similar red aura formed around Jesse also. The auras flared upwards, making the blue-green haired duelist cry out in pain before falling to one knee as the aura vanished.

Letting out a low growl while forcing himself back onto his feet, Jesse called out "I'm not losing this duel to you! I'll win both this duel and our bet, no matter what!"

"You'd better start trying harder then." Aster smartly remarked.

Once more growling with irritation, the dark-green haired duelist selected a card from his hand and slid it into an empty Spell/Trap Slot. "I set this first and then cut Amethyst Cat's attack points in half (1200 / 2 = 600/400). Go take a bite out of Aster's life points!"

Releasing a low growl while curling her lip, the pink cat bounded across the field and took a mighty leap into the air. Before the cat could come downwards, the silver haired duelist smirked as a card before him rose up.

"I don't think so, because I'm activating the trap Negate Attack! Just as it sounds, your attack is negated, plus your Battle Phase ends."

Hitting the ground with a grunt, the pink cat quickly returned before her master, but cast an evil glare at the silver haired duelist.

Softly sighing, Jesse shrugged his shoulders, saying "I think that'll do it for me." (Aster = 400, Jesse = 925)

Grunting loudly while picking up a new card, Aster pointed at his face down card, saying "I play my face down trap, Greed Pact. This lets us both draw a new card."

Nodding, Jesse picked up a new card while Aster did the same. After examining his card, the silver haired duelist called out "It's time to end this. Dogma, attack Amethyst Cat with Dogma Dagger Dash!"

Clanging his twin swords together once more, the warrior spread his wings and raced across the field at near blinding speed like before.

"Not happening this turn! I activate my face down trap, Rainbow Path! To use this trap, I have to sacrifice one of the Crystal Beasts in my Spell/Trap Zones. I'm picking Emerald Turtle."

Vanishing, the green crystal faded away while the blue-green haired duelist placed the monster card into his Graveyard Slot. As it sucked it down, he whispered "Sorry Turtle, but I'll bring you back real soon, I promise."

Returning his attention to the oncoming attack, Jesse added "Next, the attack you're making is negated. Afterwards, I'm allowed to transfer from my deck to my hand Rainbow Dragon."

Upon hearing the words said by the blue-green duelist, Aster inwardly growled. Examining the four cards in his hand, he grunted out "Just great."

"I know." Jesse smartly remarked as he pulled his deck out and began looking through it. At last finding the desired card, he turned it towards his opponent. Placing his deck back after shuffling, he added the card to the two cards in his hand, giving him three.

Releasing a frustrated sigh, Aster placed two cards into his Spell/Trap Slots, saying "I'll set these two cards and end my turn." (Aster = 400, Jesse = 925)

Nodding, Jesse drew a new card, saying "It's time I brought this duel to a close. Looks like I'm going to win our little friendly wager."

"Just go." Aster ground out in a clipped reply.

Smirking at the riled up silver haired duelist, the blue-green haired duelist called out "Since I now have all seven Crystal Beasts on my field and in my Grave, I can special summon Rainbow Dragon (4000/0)!"

Rainbow energy suddenly shot out from where the card laid on the blue-green haired duelist's Duel Disk. Glowing to life, both crystals on before the duelist shot a beam upwards into the sky, along with a beam from each of the other four creatures on the field. Similarly, a single beam of green energy shot out from his Graveyard Slot, joining the other six colored beams. The seven swirled together, forming a blinding white light.

Descending from the white light slowly was a powerful white scaled dragon that had a long snake like body, huge white feather wings on the top part, a sharp spike sticking out the top of it's head and off the back of it's head, a pair of wings off the sides of it's head, and golden like pronged wings that didn't move. On the sides of the top part of the dragon were seven jewels, on for each color of the other creatures. The dragon looked over at the black armored warrior and released a massive roar, making the warrior somewhat shutter.

"Rainbow Dragon, attack Aster's Dogma to win me this duel! Rainbow Radiance!"

Releasing a mighty roar once more, the pristine white dragon opened it's jaws, causing a rainbow colored energy to begin licking it's lips. Holding back the attack for what seemed like an eternity, the dragon unleashed a stream of rainbow colored energy without warning, causing a halo of rainbow energy to form around the beam as it left the dragon's mouth. The black armored warrior stared at the incoming blast, seemingly unafraid of it. In a flash, a massive explosion rocked the stadium, sending dust flying into the air as the sound of the explosion thundered throughout the area.

Slowly, as the explosion began to fade, Jesse smirked triumphantly, saying "Looks like I won our little bet there, Aster. Too bad, you were close too."

"I wouldn't get your hopes up yet, Jesse." a voice called from the smoke.

Breath hitching, the blue-green haired duelist kept silent as he watched the smoke dissipate, revealing an unharmed black armored warrior, along with the silver haired duelist. The warrior was now in a kneeling stance with his arms crossed and lightning flicking off of his body in places.

"How did your monster survive that!? Rainbow Dragon had more than enough attack points to wipe out your monster and your life points, so how!?"

Chuckling, Aster pointed to a face up trap card before him, saying "It's all thanks to this, my D – Shield. When activated, it becomes an equip card that can only work with a Destiny Hero. That Hero is switched automatically into defense mode, thus protecting my life points."

Frowning, Jesse argued back "But Dogma doesn't even have enough defense points to survive my attack!"

"I know that, but D – Shield has a secondary effect. As long as it's equipped to my Dogma, he can't be destroyed in battle." Aster curtly remarked.

Clenching his right hand tightly, the blue-green haired duelist let out a strangled growl. "I see, so that's how you did it. You may have survived that attack, but just you wait, because Amethyst Cat will fix things. I cut her attack points in half, letting her direct attack you (1200 / 2 = 600/400)!"

Letting out a low growl, the pink cat leapt into the air instantly, heading straight for the silver haired duelist. Smirking at this, the duelist pointed at his other face down card, forcing it to rise up and reveal itself also.

"I don't think so, dude, because I play my other trap, Defense Draw. With this, I take zero Battle Damage and draw one card."

Striking out at her target, the pink cat hissed in irritation as her claws scraped against a red barrier that erected itself around the silver haired duelist who simply smirked as he drew a new card and placed it within his left hand. With no choice, she quickly returned to her position beside of her comrades.

Releasing a small grunt of displeasure, Jesse reached for the cards on his Monster Card Zone, saying "In that case, I'll switch my remaining monsters to defense mode and set one card before I end my turn." (Aster = 400, Jesse = 925)

Snapping off a new card, Aster glanced at it before placing it into his Spell/Trap Slot. "I activate the equip spell Cyclone Blade and attach it to Dogma!"

Materializing onto the right arm of the large black armored warrior instantly was a massive tri-blade fan with razor sharp edges. Each of the three blades where connected to a circular centerpiece that seemed to hold the whole device together.

"Now Dogma, stand back up!"

Standing up, the warrior spread his arms and wings back out, causing the lightning that was coursing over his body to seemingly become less active.

"Dogma, take his Amethyst Cat out and end this duel!"

"Hold on there Hos, I'm not going anywhere!" Jesse called out. "I activate my face down spell, Emergency Provisions. This card let's me sacrifice spell/trap cards in order to gain a 1000 life points apiece. I'll send both my two remaining Crystal Beasts in my Spell/Trap Zones in order to gain 2000 life points."

Picking both cards up, the blue-green haired duelist quietly mumbled "Sorry about this" before placing both cards into his Graveyard Slot. With that, both crystals before him faded away as his life points increased.

Releasing a mighty battle cry, the black armored warrior launched his body high into the air and took up a hovering position. Turning his right arm towards the pink cat, the warrior's tri-bladed weapon began to spin rapidly. All at once, a cyclone went flying from the spinning blade and struck the pink cat, who roared out in pain before shattering into millions of pieces. The pieces turned into purple energy and soon reformed as a purple crystal.

"Dogma's not done yet, thanks to his handy equip spell. Whenever he attacks, Cyclone Blade let's me destroy one spell or trap on the field. I'm picking the crystal that just reformed!

Gasping in surprise, the blue-green haired duelist watched his purple crystal suddenly shatter, leaving him with none.

"I'm not done yet, because I activate the spell card in my Graveyard known as D – Burst. To activate it, I must remove it from the Grave."

Waiting on the card to eject from his Graveyard Slot, the silver haired duelist heard his opponent ask "How did that get in there?"

"Glad you asked." Aster smartly commented as the card slid out into his awaiting hand. Putting it into his back pocket with the three other cards he had, he said "When I used my Graceful Charity, I threw D – Burst out. Now that I've removed it, I can lower the attack points of one monster on my field that has an equip card by 1000 points. This enables it to attack once more this turn. Obviously, I'm picking Dogma (3400 – 1000 = 2400/2400). Dogma, go take out his Ruby Carbuncle!"

Letting out another loud battle cry, the black armored warrior flew back into the air and aimed his massive tri-bladed weapon at the purple cat like creature. Like before, the blades began to spin rapidly, creating an illusion of a single solid disk. All at once, a cyclone formed and came tearing down from the sky and into the purple cat creature, who tried desperately to hang on, but in the end shattered, only to reform as a red crystal.

"With her gone, I can now use Cyclone Blade's effect to send that crystal to the Grave."

Growling with irritation as his red crystal shattered, Jesse glared at Aster, who only kept a smug look on his face. Selecting the lone card in his hand, the silver haired duelist coolly said "I'll lay this face down to end my turn, meaning Dogma gets his attack points back (3400/2400)." (Aster = 400, Jesse = 725)

Drawing a new card, Jesse placed it into his left hand and pointed at the large black warrior across the field, saying "Rainbow Dragon, let's finish this duel! Attack Dogma with Rainbow Radiance!"

Rising up to full height, the white dragon opened it's maw, allowing rainbow energy to begin spilling out. In an earth shattering shot, the dragon unleashed a beam of rainbow energy straight at the black armored warrior.

"You'd think that my face down was meaningless the way you're attacking me." Aster smartly commented. Pointing at his face down card, the card rose up, with him saying "I play the trap Slip of Fortune. Here's how it works: when a monster of mine is attacked, I can negate the attack. In return, I must remove my monster from play till the next Standby Phase. So sorry about your luck."

Glowing before the black armored creature in a flash was a faint white barrier. The rainbow energy slammed straight into it, but the barrier took the full brunt of the beam of energy. After a moment, the beam of energy faded away as the black armored warrior vanished into thin air.

Grunting with irritation, Jesse heavily sighed. "If I had switched my Crystal Beasts into attack mode, you'd have lost. Oh well, I guess I'll have to get you next turn. I'll lay these two cards face down and end my turn." (Aster = 400, Jesse = 725)

Picking up a new card, Aster smirked, saying "Since it's my Standby Phase, Dogma returns."

Forming onto the field instantly was the powerful winged black armored warrior.

"Even though he's back, he's not sticking around for too long, unfortunately. I activate the spell Advance Draw! To use this, I must sacrifice a level eight monster, then I can draw two cards. Later for now, Dogma."

Glowing with a golden aura, the black armored warrior faded away into dust. With his monster gone, the silver haired duelist snapped off two new cards and smirked once more.

"Next up, I summon Destiny Hero – Doom Lord (600/800)."

Materializing onto the field immediately was a black armored figure with a tattered red cape, long clawed hands, a white head in which only his eyes were revealed, and a set of curved up shoulder spikes.

"Obviously, he's not here to spread good cheer, so I'll play his effect. Now I can remove from play one of your monsters for two of my Standby Phases. Without a doubt, I'm taking your Rainbow Dragon out of the picture!"

Gasping in surprise, the blue-green haired duelist watched in shock as the large white dragon vanished into a void that appeared behind itself. Growling with frustration visible on his face, the duelist picked up the monster card and placed it into his back pocket.

"To end, I'll throw down a face down and let you have a crack at me." (Aster = 400, Jesse = 725)

Wasting no time to draw a new card, Jesse eyed it for a moment before jamming it into an empty Spell/Trap Slot. "First off, I play the spell Pot of Avarice! This lets me take five monsters from my Graveyard and shuffle them back into my deck. The five I'm picking shouldn't be a surprise, seeing how they're the only five in there. I pick all five of my Crystal Beasts."

One by one, the five monster cards slid out of the blue-green haired duelist's Graveyard Slot, forming a small pile. Once all five were out, he picked them up and pulled his deck out. Patiently, he shuffled all five into it and soon replaced his deck to it's slot.

"Now that I'm done with that, I can draw two new cards."

Snapping off two cards, he placed them into his left hand and said "Next, I switch Topaz Tiger and Sapphire Pegasus back into attack mode. And now, I'm going to activate a few spell cards, the first being an equip spell called Crystal Release. This grants one of my Crystal Beasts an 800 attack point boost. The lucky Crystal Beast is Topaz (1600 + 800 = 2400/1200). My second spell is Crystal Tree, which is kind of complicated."

Materializing onto the field in a flash was a strange looking tree.

"Each time a Crystal Beast is placed into my Spell/Trap Zones, it gains a Crystal Counter. More on what it does later though."

Pointing across the field, Jesse called out "In the meantime, I'm going on the attack! Topaz, take out Doom Lord (2400 + 400 = 2800/1000)!"

Roaring loudly, the white tiger bounded across the field before suddenly leaping up into the air and came down hard towards the black armored warrior.

"Sorry dude, but that's not happening!" Aster declared. "I activate the trap card Draining Shield, which automatically cancels out your attack and then adds the attacking monster's attack points to my life points."

Forming before the black armored warrior instantly was a golden shield. Slamming hard into the barrier, the white tiger pressed hard against it. After a few more moments, the tiger bounced off of the shield to land gracefully onto the ground. Fading away, the golden shield shot a stream of energy straight at the silver haired duelist, causing his life points to increase.

Growling with frustration visibly on his face, the blue-green haired duelist yelled out "Pegasus, crush his Doom Lord!"

Letting out a mighty whinny while pawing the ground rapidly and throwing it's head backwards, the white horse leapt into the air, flapping it's wings to lift it higher up. Rearing back it's head once more as blue energy gathered on the tip of it's horn, the white horse threw it forward without warning, sending a sphere of blue energy straight at the black armored warrior. The blast slammed hard into it, shattering the weaker warrior on contact.

"I end my turn." (Aster = 2000, Jesse = 725)

Picking up a new card and looking at it, Aster slightly smirked before revealing it. "I activate the spell Premature Burial, allowing me to special summon a monster from my Graveyard to the field in attack mode and then equipping this card to it. I choose my Destiny Hero – Disk Commander (300/300)."

Rematerializing onto the field in a flash was the gray and light blue armored warrior with disks spinning on it's back and wrists.

"With Disk Commander back, I get to draw two new cards."

Grabbing two new cards from the top of his deck, the silver haired duelist looked them over before selecting one of the two cards and showing it. "Next, time for some spell action with this, Pot of Avarice. Like you, I'm going to return five of my monsters from my Grave to my deck so I can draw two new cards. My picks are Diamond Dude, Dasher, Double Dude, Defender, and Dunker."

Glowing to life, the Graveyard Slot of the silver haired duelist began pushing each of the five declared monster cards out. Picking up the monster cards, he drew his deck out and shuffled the five cards in. Finishing up, Aster returned his deck to it's slot and picked up two new cards.

"Next, I sacrifice Disk Commander, allowing me summon back an old friend, Destiny Hero – Dasher (2100/1000)!"

Fading away in a flurry of golden particles, the gray and light blue monster vanished from the field, only to be replaced by the sleek gray metallic skinned warrior with wheels on both it's feet and hands.

"I'm not done yet, because I remove Destiny Hero – Malicious (800/800) from the Grave, allowing me to special summon another from my deck."

Sliding out of the silver haired duelist's Graveyard Slot immediately was a single monster card, which Aster picked up and placed into his back pocket. Drawing his deck out of it's slot, he sifted through it for a moment before finding the monster card he desired. Slapping it instantly onto his Duel Disk, the silver haired duelist returned his deck to it's position.

Forming onto the field in a flash was a tan skinned warrior with large wings on his back that were dark red on the inside and outside. Behind him, a pair of black fur covered tails with golden tips swished. From his torso down, black fur covered his body, with exception of his knees. On his wrists, black fur wrapped up to his elbows. On his chest was a black D that looked like a tattoo. Upon the warrior's head were three horns, with two pointing out to the side and the other pointing forward.

"Since I have Malicious out, I can now sacrifice him to Dasher, allowing him to gain 1000 attack points (2100 + 1000 = 3100/1000)!"

Vanishing from the field instantly, the tan skinned warrior turned into golden energy. The gray metallic looking warrior absorbed the energy instantly, raising his power immediately.

"Now Dasher, take out his Topaz Tiger with Pyro Electric Strike!"

Zooming forward on his wheeled feet, the metallic warrior suddenly leaned forward, allowing the wheels on it's hands to begin sliding along. Leaping into the air suddenly, the warrior spun around a few times before coming down with it's right fist extended. The fist struck the white tiger hard, making it roar out in pain from the contact. A moment passed before the tiger exploded into millions of pixels. Slowly, the pixels reformed, creating a yellow crystal before the blue-green haired duelist.

Pointing at his face down card, Jesse called out "I activate my face down trap, Crystal Pair! Whenever one of my monsters is destroyed this turn, I can send a Crystal Beast from my deck to my Spell/Trap Zone. All of my Battle Damage is reduced to zero. My pick of Crystal Beast is Emerald Turtle."

Grabbing his deck, the blue-green haired duelist sifted through it for a moment before finding the desired card. Placing it into his Spell/Trap Slot, a green crystal formed next to the sapphire one. Immediately, the tree suddenly grew a single piece of crystallized fruit in the color of pink.

"Oh yeah, since you destroyed Sapphire Pegasus, Crystal Release was sent with him. When it goes to the Graveyard, I get to place another Crystal Beast into my Spell/Trap Zone, and I'm picking Cobalt Eagle. Plus, Crystal Tree gains another counter."

Drawing his deck out once more, Jesse searched through it before finally finding the card he desired. Placing it into another empty Spell/Trap Slot, he watched as a dark blue crystal formed next to the other two. At the same time, another piece of pink crystallized fruit grew in the strange tree.

Shrugging, Aster calmly said "After Dasher attacks, he goes to defense mode. I end." (Aster = 1200, Jesse = 725)

Nodding as he drew a new card, Jesse called out "I'll summon Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle (300/300)!"

Emerging onto the field was a red crystal. The crystal suddenly cracked open, revealing the familiar purple cat like creature.

"Now then, time to cut down your defense. Pegasus, attack his Dasher with Sapphire Horn!"

Whinnying once more, the white horse raced across the field with blinding speed. Reaching the middle of the field, the threw back it's head, causing the blue horn on it's head to begin collecting energy. Flinging it's head forward, the horse unleashed a powerful burst of blue energy that slammed hard into the gray skinned warrior instantly.

"Ruby, show him you're not here for show!"

Jumping off of the ground, the small purple cat like creature held it's breathing for a moment before ruby energy began coloring it's cheeks. Opening it's jaws, the small creature fired a single beam of energy straight at the silver haired duelist. The beam hit him head on, making him cringe lightly in pain.

"I end my turn." (Aster = 900, Jesse = 725)

"Back to me then." Aster commented as he drew a new card. Eyeing it momentarily, he calmly said "First off, the effect of Doom Lord wears off, meaning your Rainbow Dragon returns (4000/0)."

Reappearing onto the field with a monstrous roar was the large white pristine dragon with several jewels on it's neck. Spreading it's wings, the dragon released another loud roar, seemingly shaking the entire Dueling Arena.

"Next, I'll summon D – Cubic (0/0)."

Appearing onto the field in a flash, a small black mechanical cat let out a low robotic roar as it crouched down. It's face had a red view shield with a D engraved into it, and a yellow cord like tail.

"Since I just successfully summoned D – Cubic, I can play the effect of D – Formation. By sending it and two Spell Counters on itself to the Grave, I get to add two copies of D – Cubic to my hand."

Placing the spell card into his Graveyard Slot, Aster waited patiently as it was sucked in. Pulling his deck out, he began thumbing through it till he found the cards he desired. Picking both out, he placed them into his left hand before shuffling his deck and returning it to it's slot.

"I'm next activating D – Cubic's effect. When I tribute D – Cubic, I can send copies of it from my hand to increase the number of tributes it is worth. By sending one D – Cubic from my hand, the one I'm sacrificing becomes two sacrifices, and if I send both D – Cubics from my hand to the Grave, it'll count for three sacrifices."

Placing both cards into his Graveyard Slot, the silver haired duelist calmly said "I'm sending both to the Graveyard, meaning that since I'm sacrificing D – Cubic, it counts for three tributes. Now watch as I summon the ultimate Destiny Hero. Come on out, Destiny Hero – Plasma (1900/600)!"

Vanishing from the field in a cloud of sparkling golden energy, the black robotic cat disappeared while the golden dust began swirling. Below the dust, a pool of red liquid formed. The dust suddenly shot into the liquid, causing it to begin to seemingly boil. Rising up out of the puddle slowly was a large maroon armored warrior with massive black bat wings. On the back of the red armor was a large blade like spike that erupted from the sides of the creature's chest and shoulders. The left arm of the monster was formed normally, but the right became a maroon dragon's head instead of an arm. Finally, warrior raised it's head, revealing he wore a dragon's helmet and that his face was covered mostly by a mask, but eerie yellow eyes stared out from behind it.

Staring at the maroon armored monster, Jesse took an unwilling step backwards. Realizing what he was doing, he clenched his right hand into a fist, saying "Not a bad monster, but I won't lose to it."

"I'd reconsider that declaration." Aster remarked. "After all, Plasma is about to activate his special ability. Thanks to Plasma, he can take a monster from your field and make an equip card for himself. He then gains half that monster's attack points. I think I'll choose Rainbow Dragon!"

"No, you can't!" Jesse protested.

"I can and I am!" Aster fired back. "Do it Plasma!"

Stretching out it's wings to their full span, the maroon armored warrior stared down the pristine white dragon. Without warning, air began being sucked into the wings of the maroon warrior. The dragon roared loudly as it's body began to inch towards the maroon warrior. All at once, the dragon transformed into a red mist, which was instantly sucked into the massive wings. Pressing up against the skin of the black wings of the warrior after a moment was the head of the white dragon.

"Now that Plasma is powered up (1900 + 4000 / 2 = 3900/600), I can attack and end this duel, once and for all. Plasma, attack his Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus with Vengeful Rain!"

Lifting off from the ground and flying straight up into the air, the maroon armored warrior spread it's wings to their full length. Suddenly, a shower of red crimson energy rained down towards the white winged horse.

"I'm not letting you have your way just yet! I activate my face down spell, Crystal Flash! To activate this card, I gotta send a Crystal Beast from my hand to my Spell/Trap Zone, so I'm picking Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth!"

Placing the declared card into his final empty Spell/Trap Slot, Jesse watched an amber colored crystal form beside of the other two. At the same time, the strange tree grew a new pink crystallized fruit.

"By doing this, all Battle Damage is reduced to zero, thus protecting Pegasus from being destroyed."

Noting the white horse was still on the field, the silver haired duelist let out a loud and audible sigh before taking a card from his hand and placed it into his Spell/Trap Zone. "I'll lay this on the field and end my turn." (Aster = 900, Jesse = 725)

Picking up a new card from the top of his deck, Jesse pointed at the tree beside of him, saying "I activate Crystal Tree's effect. By sending it to the Graveyard, I can special summon as many Crystal Beasts as I can from my deck for each Crystal Counter. Since I only have one Crystal Beast left in my deck, I play Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat to my Spell/Trap Zone."

Pulling his deck out and finding the declared card, the blue-green haired duelist placed it into his last remaining Spell/Trap Slot. Forming immediately before him was a purple crystal.

"Next, I activate Rainbow Ruins' fourth effect, allowing me to draw an extra card."

Drawing a single card, Jesse eyed it for a moment before placing it into his Spell/Trap Slot, saying "I play another one of Rainbow Ruins' effects, which is the fifth, meaning I can special summon a Crystal Beast back to the field. I'm choosing Amber Mammoth (1700/1600)!"

Shattering, the amber colored crystal vanished. Appearing onto the field next to the white tiger was the large gray mammoth.

"I'll set this card and end my turn." (Aster = 900, Jesse = 725)

Eyeing Jesse's field as he drew a new card, Aster examined his new card before saying "It's time to end this. I activate the spell Misfortune, which lets me pick a monster on your side of the field for it's target. Next, you take direct damage equal to that monster's original attack points. I'm selecting your Amber Mammoth, meaning you're about to lose this duel. He had 1700, and half of that is 850. That's game."

"Not quite, Aster! I'm activating the third effect of Rainbow Ruins. Whenever you play a spell or trap, I can negate it by sending a Crystal Beast to my Graveyard from my Spell/Trap Zone. I send Emerald Turtle to the Grave, so your Misfortune card is gone."

Growling irritably as he watched his spell card shatter, Aster grunted out "Fine then, I'll finish you off the old fashioned way. Plasma, crush his Amber Mammoth with Vengeful Rain!"

Spreading his wings to their full length while flying into the air, the maroon armored warrior took aim. Without warning, crimson energy began raining down from the wings of the warrior, heading straight for the gray mammoth.

Pointing at his face down card, Jesse called out "I may lose my mammoth, but not without costing you! I activate the trap Crystal Raigeki. To use this, I must send a Crystal Beast from my Spell/Trap Zone to the Graveyard. The one I'm going to send is Amethyst Cat."

Picking the card up out of his Spell/Trap Slot, the blue-green haired duelist placed the said card into his Graveyard Slot. Finishing, he smirked, saying "Since that's done, I can destroy any card on your field."

Eyes widening, Aster glanced at his maroon armored warrior for a moment with fear etched into his eyes. Before he could say anything, Jesse said "Don't worry, I'm not destroying Plasma. No, he's not going anywhere, but I'm releasing my Rainbow Dragon from his grasp (1900/600)!"

Glowing with a brilliant purple aura, the trap card facing the silver haired duelist fired off a purple beam straight at the left hand wing of the maroon armored warrior. Striking the wing, the beam caused a small explosion, forcing the warrior's strength to be cut a little over half.

The raining crimson energy continued onwards, despite losing power, striking the gray mammoth hard, who bugled out in pain before shattering. An amber crystal soon formed beside the other two remaining crystals.

"I also activate Rainbow Ruins' second effect, which cuts the Battle Damage I'm dealt in half."

Growling with visible frustration visibly on his face, Aster pointed at the white tiger, saying "I play Plasma's effect, allowing him to absorb your Sapphire Pegasus and gain half his attack points (1900 + 1800 / 2 = 2800/600)."

Spreading his wings once more, the maroon armored warrior began sucking in the air on the field, causing the white horse to whinny loudly. Without warning, he turned into crimson mist and was sucked into the right wing of the maroon warrior. A set of hooves was soon seen pushing against the fleshy confines of the warrior's wing, but quickly vanished once more.

Noting his opponent seemed irked like himself, the silver haired duelist grunted out "I end." (Aster = 900, Jesse = 625)

"Here we go, it's my turn." Jesse declared as he picked up a new card. "I play the spell Magical Stone Excavation, letting me toss out two cards from my hand."

Placing both of his remaining cards in his hand, the blue-green haired duelist continued on, saying "I next get to add a spell card from my Graveyard to my hand. I'm returning Crystal Blessings."

Sliding out of his Graveyard Slot, the blue-green haired duelist picked up the ejected card with a smirk on his face. "Don't get too comfortable with seeing it, seeing how I'm activating it right now, meaning I get to return two of my Crystal Beasts from my Graveyard to my Spell/Trap Card Zones. I'm choosing Amethyst Cat and Emerald Turtle."

Immediately forming before Jesse were two crystals, one purple and the other green.

"Now I play Rainbow Ruins' fourth effect, allowing me to draw a card."

Snapping off a new card, the blue-green haired duelist placed it into his left hand and said "I next use Rainbow Ruins' fifth effect, letting me special summon a Crystal Beast from my Spell/Trap Zone. I'm picking Amethyst Cat (1200/400)!"

Shattering and revealing it's contents instantly was the purple crystal. Appearing from the remains of the crystal was the familiar pink cat creature.

"By cutting Amethyst Cat's attack points in half, she can direct attack, so go get him!"

Racing towards the silver haired duelist, the pink cat leapt high into the air, claws extending as she did so. Before she could reach her target though, the silver haired duelist pointed at his face down card with a small frown on his face.

"I hate using this, but I activate the trap Plasma Discharge! When activated, I must send an equip card from my field to the Grave. I'll get rid of Sapphire Pegasus, which allows me to end the current Battle Phase."

On the left wing of the maroon warrior, the puddle of sludge slid to the ground as the card image of the white tiger appeared, only to shatter. Immediately, the pink cat came to a skidding stop as she hit the ground. With an irritated growl, she retreated to the other side of the field.

"Well, fine then. I switch Ruby to defense and throw down a face down. That's it for me this turn." (Aster = 900, Jesse = 625)

Drawing a new card, Aster calmly said "To begin with, I'll activate Plasma's special ability. With that, I'll absorb your Amethyst Cat (1900 + 1200 / 2 = 2500/600)!"

"Hold that thought, because before you do so, I'll play my trap, Rainbow's Gravity! With this, I so long as I have all seven Crystal Beasts on either my field or in the Graveyard, I can special summon Rainbow Dragon (4000/0) from either my deck or Grave. Since he's in my Graveyard, he comes back to my field!"

Rising up over the field in with a rainbow aura surrounding it immediately was the massive white dragon. Fully on the field, the dragon spread it's wings as it let out a massive roar, seemingly shaking the whole arena upon doing so.

Growling lowly, Aster grunted out "That might be, but don't forget, Plasma is still absorbing Amethyst Cat!"

Spreading his wings, the maroon armored warrior sucked the pink cat into it's right wing. A moment passed before the face of the cat pushed up against the flesh of the wing, only to sink back in.

"Next, I play the spell Drain Time. Thanks to this spell, I can select one of our Phases. I pick Battle, meaning neither of us can conduct it till my next turn. I'm done." (Aster = 900, Jesse = 625)

Drawing his new card, Jesse eyed it momentarily before saying "I activate Rainbow Ruins' fourth effect, letting me draw a card."

Grabbing a new card from the top of his deck, the blue-green haired duelist placed it within his left hand. "I end my turn." (Aster = 900, Jesse = 625)

Snapping off a new card, Aster quickly revealed it. "I play Monster Reborn! This spell let's me bring a monster back from either of our Graveyards, and I'm picking Destiny Hero – Disk Commander (300/300) in defense mode."

Rematerializing onto the field instantly was the familiar gray and light blue skinned warrior with multiple disks on his body. Immediately, the warrior moved to a one knee stance and crossed his arms before his body like a shield.

"With Disk Commander back on my side of the field, his effect goes off, meaning I pick up two new cards." Aster declared as he drew two cards. Revealing one, he added "Next, I activate the spell Equip Drawer, which has me sacrifice an equip spell that's on the field, allowing me draw a card. I'll get rid of Amethyst Cat, meaning I get a new card (1900/600)."

Drawing a new card, the silver haired duelist nodded before saying "I play the spell D – Force. When activated, it goes to the top of my deck. So long as it's there, I can't enter my Draw Phase any longer, meaning I can't draw any new cards. However, there is an upside to this, seeing how so long as this card is on top of my deck, Plasma is unaffected by spell, trap, and monster effects that target him."

"No way!" Jesse sputtered in shock.

Smirking, Aster remarked "Yes way. Now then, I use Plasma's special ability, allowing me to suck up your Rainbow Dragon once again (1900 + 4000 / 2 = 3900/600)!"

Spreading it's wings, the maroon armored warrior began sucking in the air around the field, causing the white dragon to roar out. Without warning, the dragon became a crimson mist and was sucked into the large wings of the warrior. The face of the dragon pushed up against the fleshy confines of the wings, but it was unable to escape.

"Plasma, attack his Ruby Carbuncle with Vengeful Rain!"

Rising straight up into the air, the maroon armored warrior spread his wings wide. Glowing crimson energy began forming in numerous points in his wings. All at once, the energy began raining down in a barrage of numerous blasts of energy at the purple cat like creature. The energy easily destroyed the purple cat like creature. Reforming onto the field instantly was a red crystal next to the other four.

"I'll throw down a face down to end my turn." (Aster = 900, Jesse = 625)

"My move then!" Jesse declared as he drew a new card. "I use Rainbow Ruins' fourth effect to let me draw another card."

Picking up one more card to give him a total of four cards in his left hand, the blue-green haired duelist called out "Next up, I use Rainbow Ruins' fifth effect to special summon Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle (300/300) in defense. And since I just did so, Ruby's effect kicks in, letting me bring back all of my other Crystal Beasts, so welcome back Cobalt Eagle (1400/800), Sapphire Pegasus (1800/1200), Amber Mammoth (1700/1600), and Emerald Turtle (600/2000)! I'll place all but Amber Mammoth into defense."

Glowing to life, the red crystal broke apart, revealing the smaller purple cat. Holding it's tail straight up, the cat shot a beam of ruby energy at each of the four remaining crystals from the sphere on it's tail. Each crystal shattered, causing the four familiar monsters to revive onto the field.

"Due that Pegasus just came back, his effect goes off. Now I can take a Crystal Beast from my deck, hand, or Graveyard and place it into my Spell/Trap Zone. I'm choosing my Grave, meaning I can put Topaz Tiger back."

Forming instantly onto the field was a yellow colored crystal.

"I'll lay four face down cards and have Amber Mammoth attack your Disk Commander!"

Bugling loudly, the large gray mammoth charged across the field and slammed it's tusks into the gray and light blue skinned warrior, shattering upon impact.

"I'm done." (Aster = 900, Jesse = 625)

"It's my go, but since D – Force is my top card, I can't draw." Aster calmly stated. Smirking, he added "But that's about to change thanks to my trap, D – Boost. With this, when my top card is D – Force, I can draw two cards underneath of it."

Reaching under his top card, the silver haired duelist picked up two new cards. Eyeing both for a moment, he placed both into his empty Spell/Trap Slots, saying "I'll place these cards face down."

Looking over his opponent's field, Aster frowned. "I end my turn." (Aster = 900, Jesse = 625)

"_He didn't take the bait._" Jesse mentally mumbled. Shrugging it off, he picked up a new card, but was quickly interrupted by Aster.

"Before you start your turn, I play my trap called Plasma Roar! Since you're entering into your Standby Phase, it gains a Plasma Counter. Now then, go ahead and continue on."

Examining the card in his hand, the blue-green haired duelist simply said "I pass this turn, so back to you." (Aster = 900, Jesse = 625)

Nodding, Aster calmly said "Since D – Force is my top card, I can't draw. Still, I don't need to, because I have Plasma! Go, take out his Amber Mammoth with Vengeful Rain!"

Crossing his arms, the maroon warrior launched himself straight up into the air. Spreading it's wings to their full length, the warrior took aim and prepared to fire a stream of crimson energy blasts.

Pointing at one of his face down cards, Jesse called out "Not so fast, here's my trap, Crystal Formation – Amber! Whenever Amber Mammoth becomes an attack target, it gains attack points equal to all of my Crystal Beasts combined (1700 + 300 + 1400 + 1800 + 600 = 5800/1600). Looks like it's game over!"

"You would like that, wouldn't you, but that's not the case, because I play my own trap, a counter trap to be exact. Go Trap Jammer! With this, your trap is negated, meaning Amber Mammoth is still wide open and about to be taken down!"

Growling as his trap card shattered, the blue-green haired duelist fiercely remarked "You may have stopped Amber Mammoth's power up, but let's see you stop this trap! I play Crystal Fortress, which counts up each of my Crystal Beasts and then takes that number and multiplies it by 1000. After that, any monster with equal or less attack points can't get through this wall for the duration of this turn. That means you're out of luck Aster."

Visibly irritated, Aster grunted out "I end my turn." (Aster = 900, Jesse = 625)

"Back to me then." Jesse commented while snapping off a new card.

In a calm voice, Aster called out "That it is, but don't forget, Plasma Roar gains another Plasma Counter."

Eyeing the glowing trap card, the blue-green haired duelist smirked, saying "I guess I'll just pass this turn again." (Aster = 900, Jesse = 625)

"Time to end this duel, once and for all!" Aster declared while pointing at his crimson colored glowing trap card. "I remove both Plasma Counters, plus send Plasma Roar to my Graveyard, enabling me to destroy one monster on the field. Once that's done, you take damage equal to half your destroyed monster's attack points. I'm picking your Sapphire Pegasus, meaning you lose 800 life points. And that'd be game!"

Watching the glowing trap card vanish and his white horse beginning to glow with a similar aura, Jesse pointed at his face down card, saying "Not quite, because I play this trap! Go Shining Silver Force! Thanks to this trap, your Plasma Roar is negated, plus all spell and trap cards on your field are destroyed. That means your Plasma just got weaker since he lost Rainbow Dragon (1900/600)!"

Without warning, the white dragon's face pushed up against the flesh of the maroon armored warrior. Suddenly, the dragon was released, causing the warrior to grow weaker.

Growling with irritation, Aster grunted out "That might be, but don't forget, Plasma can absorb any monster on the field. I'm picking your Sapphire Pegasus, meaning Plasma get's stronger again (1900 + 1800 / 2 = 2800/600)."

Spreading his wings while sucking in the air from the field, the maroon warrior increased the intensity of the sucking, causing the white horse to whinny loudly. All at once, the horse became a crimson mist and was sucked easily into the winged warrior.

"Plasma, let's end this duel by attack Amber Mammoth with Vengeful Rain!"

Lifting off from the ground and reaching the area where the warrior always launched his attacks, the warrior spread his wings as wide as possible and began building up crimson energy within his wings.

Clenching his right hand tightly, Jesse grunted out "I hate to do this, but there is no other choice, seeing how Amber Mammoth's effect will force your attack back to him regardless."

"What are you talking about?" Aster asked in confusion.

Smirking playfully, Jesse called out "I activate the spell Prism Wall! With this, I have to pick a monster to redirect your attack to. I choose Amber Mammoth still, seeing how he'll choose to redirect your attack anyways. Now then, we both take damage equal to the monster I'm redirecting your attack to, so we both lose it looks likes."

Opening his mouth to protest, the silver haired duelist had no chance as suddenly his life points dropped to zero. At the same time, the blue-green haired duelist's life points dropped as well, leaving both with nothing. All at once, the holograms on the field faded away, revealing the crowd once again.

Staring wide eyed at the two duelists, the announcer switched his microphone on, saying "It seems we have a tie… What an incredible duel!"

All at once, the crowd released loud whooping cheers, with everyone standing up and clapping their hands in appreciation.

Moving towards one another, the two duelists met in the middle and shook hands, with each cockily smiling.

"Just couldn't let me win, could you?" Aster questioned.

Lightly chuckling, Jesse shook his head, saying "Nah, just couldn't do it. Good duel though."

Scratching his chin, the blue-green haired duelist asked "So, where does that leave us on our bet?"

"I guess we both win and lose." the silver haired duelist commented.

Once more chuckling, Jesse replied "I see it another way. Since we both technically won, we should both win that bet."

"What bet are you gentlemen talking about?" the announcer asked with his microphone off.

With both smirking at the announcer, Jesse spoke up, saying "Well, before our duel, we made a bet that whoever won tonight would have the loser help track down a friend of ours…"

"Jaden Yuki." Aster chimed in.

Nodding, the blue-green haired duelist continued on. "Yeah, and anyways, the loser would help track him down and then the winner would duel him when we found him. This way, we could prove to ourselves that we weren't just second best."

Jaw dropping, the announcer asked "Then you mean this duel had no meaning, other than for that bet?"

"Yeah, you got it right." Jesse answered with a goofy grin on his face. "Since we both lost, I think we're both going to look for Jaden still and when we find him, we'll…"

"We'll have a three way duel." Aster finished with a smug look on his face.


End file.
